This invention relates generally to the field of recording of broadcast type television programs by viewers for subsequent viewing.
Currently, recording of television programs by individuals for viewing at a later time, is generally performed using commercially available Video Cassette Recorders (VCRs). Typically, a VCR may be either manually placed into a record mode or may be programmed to record a selected program at a later time. To program the VCR, the user either enters a date, time and channel of the program desired to be recorded, or enters an identification code of the desired program.
Viewers of television programming increasingly have more choices as to which programs to view. For example, cable television provides a dramatic increase in the number of channels available to a viewer in comparison to the channels available by way of a conventional television antenna. Digital satellite systems provide even more viewing choices. Digital broadcast of programs over cable television systems is expected to further increase the number of channels available to viewers.
One effect of the increase in the number of viewing choices is increased difficulty in deciding which programs to watch. People, particularly those with busy schedules, may not have the time to select and view programs to determine which programs they may or may not like. Programs that may otherwise be desirable to a viewer may never be watched if the program is broadcast at a time that is inconvenient for the viewer. User""s may select certain programs for viewing to determine if they like the program. However, with several hundred program selections each week, this task can take a considerable amount of time and is likely to cause certain desirable programs to be overlooked.
It would therefore be desirable to have a system that automatically determines which programs to record based on user viewing preferences. Ideally, appropriate programs matching the user""s viewing preferences could then be recorded, thus relieving the user from the task of selecting programs to record from among potentially hundreds of program selections.
In a principal aspect, the present invention determines viewing preferences of a user by monitoring programs viewed by the user and causes recording of programs corresponding to the user""s preferences. In accordance with the principles of the present invention, apparatus for causing recordation of television programs comprises a preference agent for causing retrieval of attribute information corresponding to each television program viewed by a user of the apparatus. The preference agent generates classification information indicative of viewing preferences of the user as a function of the attribute information. A recording manager causes recordation and storage to a storage device of television programs having attribute information that matches the classification information.
Embodiments employing the principles of the present invention advantageously cause recordation of programs that match certain viewing habits of the viewer. Such embodiments therefore provide the viewer with stored programs that match certain viewing preferences of the user, which can be viewed at the viewer""s leisure. The viewer is therefore relieved of the burden of deciding which programs from among several hundred possible programs to watch.
In accordance with a further aspect of the present invention, programs may be recorded for storage in accordance with available capacity of the storage device. Moreover, programs may be deleted in response to selections by the user or based upon a priority, indicated by viewing preferences of the user, in which programs having lowest priority are deleted first to make room for newly recorded programs. The priority of programs may also be a function of time, in which more recently recorded programs are given higher priority.
In accordance with further aspects of the invention, determining which programs to record may also be a function of priority in which programs specified for recordation are given highest priority, followed by programs having attribute information corresponding to one or more user specified criteria, then followed by programs having attribute information corresponding to the recordation preference information.
In accordance with further aspects of the invention, the user specified requests may be in the form of a first type of request comprising information indicative of a specific program and a second type of request comprising specifications indicative of one or more programs having attribute information corresponding to the user""s specifications.
In accordance with further aspects of the invention, the user may cause recordation of a currently broadcasted program being viewed by the user by causing generation of a pause input. This advantageously allows a user to interrupt viewing of a currently broadcasted program by recording the remainder of the program for subsequent viewing. Program viewing options may be presented to the user in the form of a menu that provides an easy to use interface for selection of programs and viewing and other options including play, pause, delete, fast-forward, rewind and so forth.
Preferably, the preference agent organizes the recordation preference information in the form of a database organized in accordance with categorization parameters. Programs may be received in either analog or digital formats. Programs stored in digital format are advantageously presented to the user in the form of additional channels. This allows the user to easily switch between programs (either recorded or broadcast) simply by switching channels.